1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus, an image forming method, and a computer-readable storage medium.
2. Description of the Related Art
Recent years have seen a wider use of image forming apparatuses that form images on a three-dimensional object by ejecting ink thereto. A method has been disclosed, for example, in Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 2007-106049, in which such an image forming apparatus forms different images adjacent to each other on a curved surface of a three-dimensional object. According to this method, ink concentrations for the respective images are thinner toward the boundary of surfaces on which the images are formed so that the boundary of the surfaces will not be thick due to an overlap of the images, whereby the images formed adjacent to each other are joined smoothly.
When the image forming apparatus described above ejects ink to each surface of a three-dimensional object, it fails to eject sufficient ink on the end portion of each surface in some cases. This may cause a blank portion along a join between surfaces of the three-dimensional object. When the image forming apparatus ejects sufficient ink to the end portion of each surface in order not to cause such a blank portion along a join between surfaces, the ink may drip off from the end portion of a surface, thereby causing dribbling of ink in some cases. The conventional technology described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 2007-106049 fails to consider the problems of a blank portion along a join between surfaces, or dribbling of ink.
Therefore, there is a need to prevent a blank portion from occurring along a join between surfaces of a three-dimensional object without causing dribbling of ink.